The search for the unknown prophecy
by Protectress of Dalidon
Summary: Captain Sorlin of the Valiant has been given a crew of Representatives. Now he has to find the truth behind a prophecy know one knows about and believe in something that he doesn't. The One. Formerly 'Matrix Revelations: The Granddaughter Prophecy
1. The first contact

"Who the hell?" The panel flickered, lines frozen for a moment before coming back online as the others were. The man with brown hair called to the woman sitting at the multiple screens that ran with green lines. "Can we get a trace on that message?"

"Coming right up, you planning on telling PLC about this?"

"That someone contacted me and I have no idea who the hell she is? No way. No potential knows this much." The woman nodded, fingers flying over the keyboard, the message flickering on the screen next to him. 'I know you have my answers. What is the Matrix and what does it have to do with me?'

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

The code shimmered, changed and froze for a moment. A muted exclamation came from the woman, Fenra, operator on the Valiant. The captain threw a glance at the pair who were jacked in, Cleo and Rad. They were watching a potential for one of the ships docked in Zion, making sure that nothing happened to the boy.

"Got yourself another message from our untraceable." He appeared over her shoulder, eyes darting to catch the message, brow pulled into a frown. Something was more than not right about this girl.

'I need your help, there are three people in suits following me, two guys and a girl, they're wearing sunglasses and I'm sure they want to hurt me. I can't seem to loose them. I know you can hear me so a little help would be great.'

"How the hell is she sending us these messages?" He demanded, running restless fingers through his short hair. Fenra shrugged, her shoulder length hair flipping back behind her, the band on her wrist. Sorlin always wondered where exactly his Op had found the small ring of elastic covered in material to tie back her hair. She merely smiled secretively every time he mentioned in, going back to what she was doing before he interrupted her.

"Mobile phone. They have a trace running, you have about 5-10 seconds to get to her." He sighed. Catching up a keyboard he typed fast, fingers flying, watching the agents following the girl.

'Right now my only advice for you is to run, I'll be in contact when you have lost them.'

"That'll have to do, send it Fen, and get Rad out as fast as you can, I don't want to risk getting him involved, you know what he's like for heroics." The sneer on the captain's lips made his operator chuckle, the redhead boy still did rush into things and tried very hard to impress the tight-lipped Cleo, a hacker who barely spoke and had to be reminded she couldn't take on an agent. The girl was walking fast, and suddenly the Agents vanished, they had been moving fast enough to catch her, but she was still moving in the crowd unharmed.

"The Potential Liberation Council isn't going to like this one bit. I sure as hell hope you have a plan Oh Capitan! I ain't going on a ship where they don't respect female ops." She wanted to pace, stretching her fingers in an attempt to calm her nerves, no one wanted the added pressure of trying to get a potential out today, they were all too tired, they had been keeping watch on three potentials until the Agents had found two. Now the Valiant only had a nosy 15-year-old boy to worry about, which meant more sleep for everyone. Rad was taking his time getting to the exit and Cleo was busy outrunning some annoying cops. The Op ran a hand over her loose hair, eyes darting across the screens, trying to estimate the time it would take the other members of the small crew to get out.

"I have no intention of loosing you as my op Fen, and you know it. There isn't a man in or out of Zion that can hold a candle to your skills." Neither smiled, watching the screens intently, Sorlin making his way across the core to unplug the youngest member of his crew. The worrisome Rad picking up the phone as the girl walked past, her hair sitting below her shoulder blades in blonde-brown strands. Cleo was making her way to an exit closer to her as the captain pulled the spike from the boy's head. 

"Is Cleo out?" Same question every time he opened his blue eyes.

"I've got her, you need to eat." The boy nodded, reluctantly heading towards the galley, pausing to watch the code travel down the screens before Fenra waved him away. Cleo opened her brown eyes and saw the face of Sorlin. She frowned.

"Let me guess, something went wrong. Other than that kid trying to hack into the places that contain all the data on everyone we got out?" There was a data bank somewhere in the system that kept track of deaths caused in a certain way. The Agents knew that these people were now members of the Resistance, rebels, who would eventually destroy the Matrix itself. People still plugged in thought it was merely a set of unexplained deaths. The boy had wanted to find a friend of his, but luckily Cleo had managed to stop him, changing the local to some files on the terrorists that the kid normally followed. Sorlin nodded.

"Contact from an individual we have no knowledge of. She already asked about the Matrix and she's currently out-running Agents."

"You're not saving her. Why?"

"Too dangerous, since when has a potential contacted us?" She nodded, heading to the galley. Sometimes Sorlin had a decent reason for being cynical and cold towards those still trapped in the programmed dream world. Other times, he was just harsh.


	2. The Oracle's messgae

"Any luck?" He asked, looking over the Op's shoulder at the streams of green code the next shift. They had been looking for the girl for hours and she seemed ot have disappeared. The same way she had, Fenra loosing her as Sorlin was talking to Cleo.

"None, she's done it again."

"No visuals?"

"I told you, I got nothing on her and you ain't going to help me find her by glaring at my screens! Just tell them what you know and I'll do my best. Sheesh." Sorlin grumbled as he went to the newly fitted communication desk. His ship was constantly being used as a testing area for the newest gadgets Science and Technology could come up with. This time it was holographic communications.

"You have a potential for us?" The woman's eye cut into him, their grey cold and harsh.

"Yes and no. Remember that contact I got from the unknown girl?"

"You found her then? What about the boy you're watching for the Gunner?"

"He's fine, they can get him out any time they're ready. I think they made it to broadcast this morning." He moved topic back to the mystery girl. "Anyway, Agents found her first and we couldn't get in close enough to get her out."

"You lost her to them, did you?" There was accusation in the woman's voice.

"No." He denied. " She got away from them but we can't find her either, I'm going to try the mobile number."

"I will not let you take such a risk. No potential is valuable enough to risk a ship like the Valiant to sentinels. Find another way and then get in contact with us before her. I will not stop with keeping you on your ship; I will find a way to take it from you if you disobey me. Locke wants all the ships he can get you know." The holo went dead, the static came through and Sorlin sighed, resting his head wearily on his hand. The woman never listened to what he had to say, going off on a prepared rant about something. Mostly it was the disrespect of Sorlin himself, but other members of is crew were often in the line of fire too. 

"Fen, get me a link to that number," he called out, his voice echoing in the hull of his ship. Under his breath he muttered, "Detrianne is going to get us killed one day." The Op kept her smile hidden beneath a workmanlike expression as her captain approached. But then Sorlin raised an eyebrow at her and she smiled, turning back to her monitors. Sorlin realised she was an integral part of his crew, trustworthy and with a knack for finding an exit closer to their people than many other Ops with more time under their belt could. She was another of those experimental things that got sent to the Valiant, one of the few females Operators in the fleet. Sorlin reached for the headpiece,

"Wait, I got her! New number, secure line, this is it sir. You want me to send a nasty message to PLC and her Majesty Detrianne?" Her smile was bright with success and laughter, mischief glittering in her eyes.

"Just get me on the line Fen, screw the PLC this time, we got a serious Trojan horse to deal with." His eyes were cold as he scanned the uploaded file on the girl, waiting for her to pick up the phone.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"Hello Lasria." The girl's grey-green eyes flashed, she had been writing something when the phone rang, disturbing her train of thought. Her voice was filled with cold steel as she replied,

"How the hell did you know my name? Who the hell are you?"

"My name is Sorlin, you contacted me, remember?" She shook her head; hair falling about her shoulders and framing her stone set face, a slight smile beginning as she spoke after a moment's thought.

"Oh yeah, the guy whose advice is to run…"

"Yes, and now I can help you…"

"Hang on, you have my answers." He rocked back on his heels a little.

"Yes, I do…" He was hesitant, throwing a look at Cleo, the brunette resting her arms on the chair back, just in case she had to get the girl out of trouble.

"Then tell me, what is the Matrix and what does it have to do with me?"

"No one can be told what the Matrix is, you have to be shown..."Before he could finish she interuppted.

"Alright then Sorlin, show me. I'm pretty sure I already know anyway." She shrugged and since he was watching the coded screen Fen had pulled up he knew, the smile playing on her lips making him frown.

"What is it then?"

"A pattern." She answered simply. "In music it's a pattern, in maths it a formula, both make things and help understanding and prediction. The Matrix is a system." No one breathed on the Valiant.

"You know too much."

"That's what I've been told." She shrugged again and he swore softly, someone had forgotten to file her with the PLC, maybe she had taken a blue pill and it hadn't worked properly.

"How did you know that?"

"It's called a search engine, type in matrix and you get sites. I figure it's a mix of them all because it didn't seem to be the right answer any time by itself." There was a pause and her face changed, a look of distress coming over her face. "Did they get Neo?"

"What?" Sorlin was getting tired of that word but it was all he could say. She was full of nasty surprises.

"Did they get Neo or Trinity?"

"No." He answered slowly. "How do you know those names?"

"They're hackers and they rule. I used to watch for them all the time, but then after Trinity cracked the D-base she vanished and Neo just wandered off somewhere. When you watch for style in hacking, you keep tabs of dancers like Trinity."

"You're comparing Trinity to a dancer? Are you sure Trinity's a she?" Sorlin almost laughed, Fen already clasping her hands to her mouth in a mixture of shock and amusement, struggling to stay on the chair. Rad and Cleo smiled, the latter raising an eyebrow, waiting skeptically.

"Sure, the IRS D-base is too tricky for any male to hack, they can't spin like she can. Well, maybe Neo could, but then they're hacking styles were really complimentary. Getting through tough systems requires more grace than a guy could posses, unless he's gay and a dancer. Which isn't a good combination for a hacker. Trinity dances through the codes." He looked to Cleo,

"Dance through the codes?"

"Sure, men don't have the mental capacity for dance, unless, as I said, they're gay. Generalization I know, but you have to accept that it's pretty true. Now about those people in suits, why did you wait so long to contact me?"

"Glad you remember, you went into hiding very well Lasria, no one could find you." The change of topics made him pay more attention to her, watching the area and especially the proximity alarm.

"Bullshit, they almost did, I could feel them. I hid at my friend's for the afternoon, no one was home so I was pretty scared, and then I got home and spent the night under my bed. They know all about me don't they? They know about you too and they want to find you, I know it." Fear radiated from Rad, Fen gulped and looked up and whispered

"Trojan horse." Her voice was clogged and nothing would get past the lump. Even the unflappable Cleo looked worried, the small crew of the Valiant was silent.

"I can't get you out of the situation until you tell me about the people in suits, Agents I call them. What makes you think they have a file on you?"

"They found me, didn't they? I bet I'm a number to them, a bunch of numbers, a file on a huge computer system." She laughed, running a hand through her hair. "I bet they know I'm talking to you. You want them gone." Her head moved to the side slightly. "Tell me how right I am Sorlin." Instead he confirmed what she had said, careful not to give away too much information that she didn't need to know.

"You are a number to them, so am I and so is everyone else, they know about everyone. But I don't want them gone, as such."

"That would mean that they could do anything, no one would give people that much power!"

"No, they wouldn't…"

"So they're not people." She mused, "That makes them more dangerous. You said you could help me, get me out." It wasn't a request but a demand, Fen shook her head violently and Cleo looked at her captain to see if he had lost his mind.

"Lasria, we have a small problem. You know way too much. There is a possibility that you are nothing but a Trojan horse, a trick to get us all killed so I really can't help you at the moment. I'm talking to you because I want to make sure you're alright."

"Then you were making me Agamemnon's daughter?" Sorlin had no idea what she meant and said yet again,

"What?" She sighed frustratedly.

"King Agamemnon lured his daughter to the camp of the Greek warriors before they set out for Troy to recover Helen saying that she would be the wife of Achilles, the greatest Greek warrior ever. But instead he slit her throat as an offering to the gods for fair weather to get to Troy. I am not going to be a sacrifice. If I know too much then we're both wasting our time. I'll just talk to the Agents next time I see them."

"No, I'm not trying to get you set up to die, but if you talk to those Agents I can't promise you won't end up dead." An alert sounded, there were sentinels. "Lasria, I have to go, tomorrow at 7.30pm I'm coming to get you out. Don't leave your house, don't open the door to anyone, and if you have to run avoid people, they will find you if there are people. Trust me Lasria. 7.30 tomorrow."

"Got it." The line went dead.

"Lost the tracer in the nick of time." Fen smiled shakily.

"I don't trust her, something's going to happen Sorlin, and it isn't going to be pretty." Cleo said coldly, silently fuming that the captain had made an offer to the girl so quickly. For once she failed to respect his decion. She walked to her room, Rad stumbling into the galley to sit down for a few moments. Sorlin looked down at his Op who met his gaze with concern

"I made the right choice Fen."

"I know Capt. But remember, the Minister for Security is on board as well as that new kid, Adrian. They just happen to be asleep right now. We gotta keep 'em safe. If the Minister doesn't like what's going on he's going to have someone's head." He sighed at her worried look, knowing he almost mirrored her features on the inside. His face was as hard as the metal that made his ship.

"I know. But I have a feeling about her and I can't let it go. She's going to be important." The woman nodded and turned back to her screens, the captain sighing again and going to his post. He was too wired to sleep and there was too much to think about. Who the hell was Lasria and how did she fit into the Matrix? And more importantly, why didn't he know about her as a potential until she had contacted him?


	3. Big thrills all round

Nothing was going to plan. Adrian couldn't understand why they hadn't pulled Lasria out as soon as they found her, the Minister of Security had lectured everyone. Particularly on the handling of the situation with Lasria and his nasal voice reverberated through the ship every moment he was awake. More than once Sorlin had to send Cleo a glare to get her to hold her tongue. He may be able to have a small crew but without the warrior, he was sure he would fail to pull some potential out in time. Cleo had taken her anger out on Rad, teaching him that if he wanted to survive he was going to have to bend the rules much better than he did. Once they came out of the sparring program he had limped around the ship, the Minister finding it causes to give the Valiant crew yet another lecture. If that wasn't enough, when they went to check on the boy for the Gunner, who were experiencing some minor connection troubles, they hadn't used the exits the Minister had said would be appropriate. Fenra had found some that had been forgotten about, the hard-line reconnected and the exits useable again. But the Minister had been furious, not because any harm had come to either Cleo or Sorlin, but because the Op had simply done what she normally did without heeding his advice. Fenra sat in her chair, watching the screens blankly as the time passed. It wouldn't be long now, Rad, Cleo and Sorlin were ready to go in.

"He's going to make me resign." The captain shook his head at her, even though she couldn't see it as he was behind her shoulder. She never had been one to mince words. Someone like Cleo would have worded it, 'request my resignation'. But not Fenra.

"I'm not going to let him and you know it." This did little to comfort her.

"He will and…" One of the alarms beeped. "She's in range." The crew went to their positions, Cleo jacked in, picking up the phone and giving her Op the all clear. Sorlin watched as Rad joined her, the captain staying out to get a safe communication in to let the girl know they were coming. The Minister watched from the sidelines, muttering to Adrian about the various procedures the crew was breaking.

"Get me an audio link, I have to talk to her first so she knows it's us." Fen nodded, the line ready to go. It rang twice.

"Hello?" The girl answered and he could have cursed her to the scorched sky and back. Atleast she was home though.

"Lasria, we're coming to get you, you ready?" She quickly spoke, making sure he didn't hang up.

"I have a message for you from a woman named the Oracle. She said to tell you that no one on the Nebakanezzer is to know about me, period. If that happens then things will go really wrong. Also, I'm not to step a single foot on Zion, something about the prophecy of the founding One's granddaughter. You better check that out before you get me out, I don't think I'm in any real danger." No one moved. Cleo leaned against a wall, waiting for the signal, Rad sat down with a thud, gaining a glare fit to kill. He stood up by the side of his superior. Fenra looked to Sorlin who looked to the Minister, who shook his head, holding up two fingers. The captain tried not to swear.

"Pull the plug, she stays." The nasal tone grated on his nerves but the captain acknowledged the order with a nod, turning his attention back to the girl

"Lasria," Sorlin said quietly, "I can't get you out. You have just raised security to Level 2 and they won't let me take that big a risk. You know way too much and I just hope that you know what you're doing." The girl laughed a little, the sound surprising the crew, particularly the Minister.

"She told me you'd probably react like this. But another warning, you need to find out the prophecy and the truth about the granddaughter, it's the only way to save the One and the woman he loves." She had sounded calm but now that cracked, allowing them to see that what had been told to her she believed. "You have to believe me on that. Please, I know she meant Neo and Trinity, you can't let anything happen to them. I can't remember her exact words but that was the gist of it."

"I have to go Lasria, no further communication will be entered into," the line was cut and Sorlin muttered "until I have the all clear." The proximity alarm went off.

"Holy shit, squidees." Orders were fired off in rapid succession, Cleo quickly brought out of the Matrix to help, thanks to Fenra and the exit Cleo had been standing near to without realising it. Rad had followed her out a moment later. For once the Minister said nothing about the unorthodox exit, cramming himself into the cockpit to watch over the handling of the situation. The others rushed to their stations when they could. Nothing was worse than the timing, bar the Minister. He refused to sit down where Sorlin told him, constantly rattling off the appropriate safety procedure until Cleo walked over to him and hauled him away, fingers leaving bruises that went purple and black the nest day.

"You want to be Sentinel bait, fine with me, but you are not bringing this ship down. Shut up with all your procedure crap and let us keep you alive, ok?" The man looked at the hard face before him and sat down in silence, Cleo giving a small smile before stalking back to her seat ready to do battle with the machines if necessary.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"Four on the prowl, we can just set her down and wait for them to go past." The whisper echoed in the dark ship, Sorlin shaking his head at Fenra's suggestion.

"No, I want them off our tail, I don't want to keep the PLC waiting. Plus, there are bound to be more of the suckers somewhere." Fenra muttered something about stupid captains but followed orders quickly in the darkened mess of wires, pipes and monitors. The EMP was armed and ready when she sent out a pulse designed to distract the killer machines and take them away from the ship. There was a pause as the Op listened on her headset.

"Anything?"

"Not a damned thing but static, I must have nudged the adjustment." She swore softly, handing the headset over to the man sitting next to her. He tuned the frequency and a few moments later gave a small signal, it meant they would move but with minimum power. Slowly the Valiant crawled along the bottom of the sewer, just above the rubble. No one spoke, the Minister opened his mouth but shut it again when Cleo glared at him, she wouldn't hesitate to tie and gag him. The opening to the main accessway loomed black and foreboding, Fenra shivered. It was the first time they had approached so slowly with so few lights, it seemed to be a cave that continued forever into the blackness.

"Come into my parlor said the spider to the fly." She said, eyes locked on her monitors. "Squidees gone for the long haul, you hear anything on that pulse?" The captain shook his head,

"Out of range, they all followed it though. Once we get in I want medium power, no more. We'll get to Zion with minutes to spare." Far from reassuring his crew, Sorlin had put them all on edge, the light masking his face in shadow; the others totally sunk in the blackness. "Get the Minister and the boys to bed, Fenra and I can handle this until next watch." Cleo nodded, recognizing the tone that was restricted to her alone.

"I'll be ready." She ushered the others to their rooms, down the ladder from the command bay where the captain and the Op sat in silence. They were the best piloting team Cleo had ever seen, maneuvering around things like the group of sentinels with moderate ease. She shook her head, dark brown curls bouncing slightly against her tattered shirt. There were some things you didn't ask about, one of them was Neo and the other was Fenra. No one knew how the captain felt on either topic but Cleo believed in the One, she believed in Neo and she was willing to bet that Fenra was genetically related to some of the first freed, it was there in her hacking and tracking skills. The woman reflected then on the girl they hadn't saved, she had a strange way with the computers, almost as if she knew how they worked in connection to the Matrix instinctively, like she had been born to manipulate the system and all that ran in it. That was the only way she could have escaped the Agents and that was the only way she could have met the Oracle. The words came back to haunt the warrior, 'the prophecy of the founding One's granddaughter'. Racking her brains as she lay in her bunk, Cleo discovered all she knew was that the girl had died when she had been a few days old, a surprise attack on the ship she and her mother were on. But why would a woman who was that close to birthing be on a ship at any level? With a muttered oath and a grumble about the stupidity of the Minister, Cleo rolled over, set her makeshift alarm and dozed, the lights staying off even when the time for daylight came. Captain Sorlin was more than careful about squidees, he was close to ridiculous.


	4. Search, research and ramblings

Cleo was searching the databanks after her shift, the lights back on as the approached Zion's massive gates. Fenra was napping, her head resting on the back of a monitor that scrolled the green code continuously. Someone had jammed the Ops door, meaning that the maintenance crew would have to spend time getting it undone. Cleo could feel the eyes of her captain wandering over the awake crew. That was part of being in such a close environment with people, you learnt when and where they were. It was also a draw back as she could tell he was concerned about Fenra and knew that Cleo could cope without much help. It meant he would treat his Op like he treated Rad, more than a comrade. Her thoughts moved on to the boy who had just passed the age restrictions. He was a in constant need of supervision and she knew that there was a reason for him being on the ship but for the life of her Cleo couldn't place it. The voice of her captain brought her back to the present.

"What are you looking at Cleo?" Sorlin asked, standing behind her shoulder with an air of ease. He had his hands behind his back, eyes scanning her work.

"You'll have to talk to the Oracle. The girl died on machine level at a few days old, no body was found, all others on her ship survived." He didn't need to ask and she didn't need to explain, the information from the Zion databanks rolling down the screens.

"What would a ship be doing with a baby on it?" Cleo shrugged, not seeing the frown that touched the captain's brow. She didn't answer, typing again for a different track of information. That was one good thing about the world of the machines, they programming for search engines were easily available and easy to manipulate to suit the purpose of those in Zion.

"The ship made it back, no damage."

"How could she have died on a ship like that? When was this?"

"Almost 18 years, she would be her age if she lived." Cleo let it hang in the air, watching the reflection of her captain register the details. Without a word he left, silent as he always was when there were others onboard. No one on the Valiant liked having strangers. Cleo mused that the captain was similar with those he didn't know and sentinels, he avoided them and barely made a sound.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~~*~*~*~*~*

He found her sitting on her back doorstep, looking at the sky with a small smile on her face. He wasn't supposed to be tracking her. In fact, he was supposed to be asleep, not watching the green code falling down the black screen, telling him she was talking to a woman under the cover of the carport.

* 

"It's kind of funny, he thinks I'm just going to wait for him to get me out. He won't and I really don't want to go back." She sighs, tilting her head to the side, hair falling down one shoulder, he couldn't hear her but he could see her listen and speak. 

"You know him already, girl? I think he'll try his damnedest to get you out." The older woman replied, tapping her cigarette.

"He's a fool. They won't even consider it when they find out who I am." She laughs, an almost choked sound. Who would want to let loose the destruction of Zion? Bar the machines, and they didn't have the power, or the knowledge surprisingly, to do it. They had the ultimate weapon sitting right under their noses and some of the most powerful programs knew it. But they couldn't do a thing with their secret weapon.

"You know," the other woman says, taking a drag on her cigarette, "I think you're right. But then, I can't see everything." The girl laughs again.

"You know what I know? They're not going to listen to me and they're both going to die. And I'll never get to meet them. It's not fair." She frowns like a child denied something she wanted before breaking into her smile again. "Oh well, live and learn." She shrugs, actually quiet annoyed that she won't get to meet the One and the woman who supports him. She wanted to know if there would be a resemblance at all, or if that was something else again. The pair talked more about many things, Seraph standing guard just outside the view of the Captain.

*

He turned back to the world of his cold ship. It's dark and the gates of Zion are only a few hours away. For a moment he considered staying at this fuzzy broadcast level, he may not be able to hear her but he would know who she was talking to. The woman had been hidden in the shadow of the noon sun. It was strange how different time could be, one moment it's night and the next you're back on the ship at the daytime that you have come to know. He sighed and wandered around for a while longer. Cleo left a rather ugly bruise on the Minister, which Sorlin was sure he'd have to answer for. If he didn't have enough problems already his crew would find new ones. Cleo wanted to upload the newest training programs, one of them a version of the Agent Training which the skilled Mouse had altered slightly.

*

"It'd be perfect, don't trust anyone." She had said, tapping the screen as the woman walked past.

"You hate men don't you?" She smiled

"Only the losers." She walked away, reminding everyone of the great Trinity, a warrior first and foremost.

*

Then there was Fenra, who was determined that she would have to resign. Sorlin ran his fingers through his hair, scanning the monitors in the darkness. In a few more minutes he wouldn't be able to get any signal from the Matrix, he'd been lucky to get it this close to Zion. 'Thank you Fen', he thought settling into the chair in desperate need of padding. She was the best Op he had come across in all his years in the Real World. It seemed that she made exits instead of just using old ones, she knew where Agents were, how many and what speed they were moving before anyone else could have detected them. And then she made up a code so simple it seemed ridiculous. Their conversations between Op and rebel sounded like friends on a normal phone, both blissfully unaware that they were being listened to, both still plugged in. He shook his head, reading the depth gauge again. And she could pilot too. He smiled, thinking of the reaction she would get on another ship, or even when they got back to Zion. She would be greeted by her family and people she had known as a child growing up in Zion. He envied her that, a family and a place of her own. But then, she never really had taken to the idea of settling down with her sweetheart Jet, Op for the Cruiser, seriously. Sorlin wondered for a moment if he should consider trying to find a replacement soon, thinking about the future of his small crew. Cleo would stay, Rad would end up dead soon, his stunts too dangerous to keep him alive. Or the youngster would move to a ship that dealt more with the finding and fighting of the Agents, trying to free other minds. But first Sorlin wanted Rad to go through the training programs Zion had on offer, he'd ask Human Resources about that of he got the chance. Adrian was only temporary, he had a ship lined up for him as soon as he turned 18 and the Minister would be safely back in Zion or annoying someone else, except the Nebakanezzer, he wouldn't touch that ship and nor would the other Ministers. Locke had decided them; "Morpheus can kill his own people as long as he doesn't kill the rest of the fleet or Zion." The moment was finished, the lights flickering on overhead, the whirring of the engines as they strained to maintain minimum settings and keep everything running was evident. Flicking a switch turned off the monitors, another brought the power back to full and there was a lightness again inside the cold hull of the Valiant. Sorlin sat in his chair and waited for the others to begin the day. They were going home.


	5. Zion's Gates

A/N: Reviews, please. L 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

The voice crackled slightly over the comm link but Sorlin knew who it was, or would be, the gate's identity painted in white before them. And so did the rest of his crew knew too. Fenra threw him a cheeky grin, sliding out of her chair to do something else, Cleo not even making her exit discreet. Sorlin sighed, going back to the headset to finish getting access to Zion.

"Valiant, this is Zion Control. You're request for access to the dock has been cleared, I'll put you through to Gate One for further details."

"Thank you Zion Control, the Valiant is on standby for incoming directions."

"Valiant, this is Zion Gate One. You'll be docked in bay 1, keep it clear of the ship in second, they're just disembarking." Her voice was welcoming and warm, a smile evident just because of the tone.

"I'll be careful," He smiled too, remembering his crew had a very good reason to give him room when talking to the unseen smiling woman, main operator of Gate One. The holos had been playing up so they were turned off, at the Minister's orders of course.

"You always are. The Commander wants to see you, the PLC Board is ready and waiting and you better tell your friends that you're ok. Some of us worry you know." The reprimand was gentle, teasing, but he ignored it, used to it as part of their routine if she was on the gate he needed.

"I'll see Locke first, tell him I'm on my way."

"Ok, I'll do that. Is Fen still with you?" It was an almost irrelevant question but it was part of their routine and it was part of habit as she got the huge gate ready to open for his ship.

"Yeah, she'll be happy to see you. She has a little more time up her sleeve than I do." Fenra and the woman opening the gate were old friends, having done basic training together even though one was a free-born and the other a copper-top.

"I'll bet." The woman laughed, "Don't forget to talk to Jet though, ok?" He had agreed to offer the man a place as second Op or something similar so as to make life easier for all involved. He had found his Op in tears more than once since they had seen the Cruiser. She had heard no news bar the grapevine and people never remembered talking to Jet, so Fenra assumed the worst, that he and his ship had been downed by the machines and she was never going to see him again. However, when they discovered he was alright, the Op had flown into a rage and refused to send more than a polite message. Sorlin reminded himself that he really should give up on the pair, but then someone from either Zion or the Cruiser would request permission to speak to Fenra and they would put Jet on at their end. After the first heated words were exchanged things settled down and both went around with half-smiles and dreamy airs for almost three weeks. Enough to drive a captain mad.

"I won't." The connection was broken and the great gate to Zion opened for the seemingly tiny craft. With skill and dexterity, now that Fenra had taken her place at the controls with a sly smile and a wink, the ship landed lightly.

"All systems locked in and ready for your orders, oh Captain, my captain." She beamed broadly.

"What have I told you about downloading and watching those movies?" he referred to the quote from 'Dead Poet's Society' with a stern voice.

"If you catch me I'll be skinned alive. But you haven't caught me yet, have you?" She laughed at his scowl.

"Get off this ship before I carry that threat through." He was glowering but his Op took no notice, saluting, clicking her heels and grabbing her bags. The door had come unstuck magically, probably having something to do with Rad and Adrian deciding Fenra needed a decent night's sleep and a change of clothes because she had been in a foul mood. Tossing a cheeky grin back over her shoulder she called,

"Say hi to Cabrette for me!" She was on the dock before he could throw something at her retreating back. Standing he muttered,

"You can say hi to her from me, knowing my luck I won't see her before we leave." He sighed, following his laughing Op, feet echoing in the familiar hull as he began the journey to the PLC Committee room. 

"Captain Sorlin, you better have a good explanation for this!" The woman with flaming red hair demanded as she saw him. "You contacted the girl without telling me about it, you injured a Minister, your crew are running around generating chaos and you're late for all your arranged meetings. What do you have to say for yourself." He blinked. He hadn't even had a chance to step onto Zion yet.

"Nice to see you too Detrianne, can I get off my ship now?" She turned away, continuing her triad about the disrespect of the captains and other complaints everyone had heard before. A bemused smile touched his lips and he waited for a moment to see if she would turn on him again. The woman disappeared and so he went to find Locke, it would be better to get that out of the way first. The commander tended to be brief and hated to be kept waiting. Maybe there would be some news of the Cruiser that he could give to his Op, although he highly doubted it. He sighed; wondering there was a way to get out of either seeing Locke or the Council, although he knew the latter was impossible. But meetings with the council tended to take a very long time and he didn't have the energy to deal with the bickering and other annoyances red tape tended to bring up.


	6. Cabrette, she's going to cause some trou...

The door was closed as Sorlin arrived at the office of the Commander. He knocked loudly, knowing that Locke got buried in his work on a regular basis. Especially if a report had come from the Nebakaknezzer, that never failed to put Locke in an exceedingly foul mood. He waited outside the door.

"Come in," called a female voice. For a moment he was stunned, the voice familiar, but out of place. He shrugged, thinking it must be one of the captains he didn't have a chance to see or hear from often. He pushed the door and it opened easily. 

"I'm here to talk about…" He trailed off. It wasn't a captain or even Locke in the office; it was the woman who opened Gate One. Cabrette turned for a moment, flashing him a warm smile that touched her eyes.

"Locke had a crisis to deal with in the Training program wing, some poor kid got lost and ended up stuck in the construct. He'll be back in about an hour or so. I get to clean his office for him," her smile and enthusiasm became very fake, "lucky me." He sighed heavily, running a hand through his hair. Why did it have to be her that was tidying the office, why couldn't it be someone he had no reason to be more than civil to?

"Cabrette, I really don't have time today." Her smile fell just as quickly as it had risen; he always did that to her, she should be used to it by now. Captain Sorlin was a very busy all the time, she marvelled that he got a chance to eat and sleep the way he ran his ship. Turning away to stack the papers she muttered.

"You better go then, I suppose. Just send me a message when you go this time. As I said, Locke should be back in an hour or so, he'll be well and truly here by the time you finish with the PLC." Closing his eyes for a moment he collected himself. Taking a step closer he ran his hands down her bare arms, the fabric of her work shirt shortened because she didn't deal with heat as well as others.

"I'll send you a message, but what do you want me to say?" She turned to face him, head tilted on an angle to look at him closely.

"'Thanks for opening the gate Cabrette', would do nicely." She placed her small hand on his cheek lightly. "You better go, the Ministers hate being kept waiting." Reaching behind her she picked up a pile of papers and walked through his arms silently, head lowered a little so he couldn't see her eyes. Running a hand over his face he followed, expecting to see her back headed somewhere but seeing only emptiness. With a soft curse he headed to the committee room, ready to wait through all the red tape and political arguments that were bound to waste his time. Shaking his head Sorlin wondered what he had done to get himself into this big a mess.


	7. Red tape be gone! The Chair is sending R...

"I said Order" The talking was silenced by the authority in the old man's voice. He glared at everyone in turn; he wasn't looking forward to dealing with Science and Technology and Prophetics Ministers on such a delicate issue, their viewpoints so different. In a Matrix council, Prophetics would have been known as Religious Minister, but no, Zion wanted something different so Prophetics it became. The room was bare except for the semi-circular table that held the Ministers for each department the Council had decided would be needed to make sure that Potentials were dealt with in a manner that was acceptable. They didn't interfere directly with any ship and the captain's choice to who would be unplugged unless there was a high risk to the safety of others. Ships like the Valiant were crewed to keep an eye on individuals that hadn't been contacted if the ship interested in them had to go back to Zion for any reason. The tabletop was black and cold beneath the fingers of Captain Sorlin as he waited for the discussion to begin.

"Our business of the day is that relating to the girl Lasria who contacted Captain Sorlin of the Valiant. Today we decide what exactly we are going to do about her. Security, you may begin." The man sitting on the old man's left began to speak, the rest of the panel trying to be attentive, bar Sorlin who had heard the whole diatribe in its entirety when the incident happened, the captain drifted off to mull over his meeting with Cabrette.

"In the opinion of Security," the man said in his nasal tone, "she should be left where she is. She knows far too much to be a potential and there is no record of her taking a blue pill. I believe the only other option is to dispose of her, permanently." The Minister for Prophetics stood up angrily at the comment, brown eyes flashing her disgust and immense disapproval of the man who had just spoken.

"Sit down Prophetics." The old man said, his blue eyes resting on her for a moment. She sat, the Security Minister smirking triumphantly. "You too, Security, I'm sure there are reasons for you opinion but they are obvious and don't need to be stated." The smirk died as the man sat down, crossing his arms gingerly, to avoid knocking one of the other set of bruises he received from the very angry Cleo when he had told her that she should be sent back to Zion for some proper training. He had stayed in his appointed seat after that, and she had kept away from his, the only sign of her anger her clenched jaw.

"May Human Resources speak, Chair?" The man sighed and nodded. The woman with hair as black as ebony and a voice as resonant stood, taking a moment to gather attention. "It would be impractical to unplug the girl in question. There are many who believe in the Oracle and the One and so if it was discovered that she would destroy Zion if she were here, there would be utter chaos. It is far too dangerous for all involved to release such a mind, no matter how much she knows." The woman held up her hand, assuring silence. 

"However, it is also the opinion of Human Resources that a crew should be sent to broadcast level to learn more about the girl so as to discover exactly what we are dealing with." She sat down again, her words calming the other representatives, bar Security, who was going red in the face with silent rage. The old man sitting in the centre of the semi-circle table nodded.

"Science and Technology, what is your opinion?" He asked, already bored with the prospect of them talking. 

"There is a possibility that the girl is no more than a Trojan Horse," Sorlin winced at the reference slightly, "a program designed to infiltrate Zion and destroy us from the inside." The woman on his right snorted, rolling her eyes. The Minister continued with heightened conviction. "We have long been trying to develop a pill that works better than the blue pill and we have come up with two alternatives, the orange, which deletes sections of memory related to the contact between our operatives and the subject. And the black pill, which disposes of those who know too much." The Ministers for Human Resources and Prophetics both stood, declaring they would not support the inclusion of either pill, especially the later. The Chair silenced the discussion by telling the smug Science and Tech to sit down. He then called on Prophetics to speak.

"I realize that this issue does need to be clarified and indeed semi-finalised today. I am not, however, going to condemn a child to death merely because she knows too much. While the other Ministers all have made valid points, they have failed to mention the Oracle and the prophecy of which the girl spoke on her last communication to Captain Sorlin. The family of the founding One has no granddaughters. The first, and only, girl died on machine level when she was a few days old almost 18 years ago. Now, I'm sure many of you realize that it would mean her mother would have given birth on the ship as the journey which now only takes us a few days to complete comfortably would have taken over a week at full speed then. I am trying to find more about the girl and the reason for someone to be on a ship at that stage of pregnancy but I have yet to find any evidence to support the details either way. However, it did happen, I'm just not sure why. But there is a link between the girl we are here to discuss, she was born late, only by a few days, but with the development the dead girl would have had. She is almost exactly the same age." The audience was in an awed silence, even those who did not believe in the tales of the One and all that went with it. The speaker had a talent for biding the attention to her once she needed it and her soft, strangely child-like voice never failed to keep even the most cynical silent.

"And I suppose you want to know why?" The Chair said, his voice weaving it's own spell. She nodded.

"I do, I want to know what the Oracle has to say about the girl and the future of Zion. But, I'm not able to discover such things, being born here in Zion." The Chair turning to Resources, 

"Do you have a suggestion?" The woman frowned, her startling green eyes flicking to each Minister in turn. 

"If we do send a ship to broadcast level to gain more information, we could send a representative of each department and they could report back to us here. They don't need to be high in the ranks, if they have plugs we can download all the information they'll need." Silence echoed, waiting for the verdict. "We can spare one person each, and there's room on the Valiant." She shrugged and sat down, Security standing up.

"You're assuming we send the Valiant. I believe the ship should stay docked until further notice and all it's crew be re-trained to respond properly. They are a hazard to themselves and other ships."

"You just say that because they don't play by the rules all the time." Retorted Resources. "What is it that some captains say to their recruits? 'Some rules can be bent, others can be broken'. If I remember rightly, that was in your instructions to aid the freeing of the mind. Captain Sorlin has reported less injuries and encounters with Agents than any other in our service has. It would be ludicrous to send a different ship." Red faced and stuttering in rage Security stood to make his rebuttal.

"Enough!" The Chair interrupted loudly. "Sit down both of you and stop behaving like children. What do you have to say on the matter Captain Sorlin, since you are the one who has spoken to the girl." He stood slowly, looking around the room, eyes taking in each face before him.

"It is my opinion, as the Captain of the Valiant and contact, that we leave her plugged in, she's too dangerous." The Science and Security Ministers grinned smugly, Prophetics frowning slightly.

"Don't you want to find out more about the prophecy?" She asked.

"Frankly Minister, I don't believe in the One. I never have and nothing so far has convinced me to. Some girl talking about a prophecy that no one else has ever heard of isn't going to make me change my mind. I don't want to risk my crew on a fools errand, it's my duty to keep them safe."

"Will you consent to having representatives from the Ministers on your ship Captain Sorlin?" The Chair asked, close enough to ignoring the train of debate that could have been brought up. He nodded, "Good, each Minister shall select a person now, they must have plugs and be reliable. These representatives may pull the plug only when there is a stage of extreme emergency and the captain here is seen to be acting unreliably." Security stood.

"I select Jared to represent me." The Chair nodded, adding his choice,

"I will be sending Achilles." This surprised no one, but Resources made a mental note to warn Sorlin about both boys. Prophetics stood.

"I wish to select someone not from my department." The Chair nodded, "I wish Cabrette, communication Gate One, to be my contact." Sorlin almost fell off his chair in shock. Resources stood with a smile. 

"I'll second that choice, adding her as my representative also." The captain had to lay his hands on the cold black tabletop to steady himself. Two Ministers had selected Cabrette. 'Boy am I in trouble', he thought as the Chair nodded.

"Science and Technology, who will represent you?"

"There is no one with the required merits with plugs in my department." The Minister sat down again, arms folded; the others on the table rolled their eyes. It was a well-known fact that Science and Tech didn't trust anyone born inside the Matrix. Something about the possibility of a program being given a body and disguised to discover the secret advance Zion was making, the main reason they wouldn't have trusted Lasria, she fitted their theory too well. No one bothered to suggest any options and the Chair dismissed the topic, closing.

"I also install another Operator, Sorlin's choice. It is my commands that none of this shall be mentioned outside this room. Everything said is to be considered classified until I say otherwise. Are there any questions or comments from the people's representatives?" No reply. "Good, I consider the matter settled and if I hear a single word about it outside here I shall take matters into my own hands. You are free to leave." They sat in silence, the threat of action from the Chair of the PLC enough to keep them from uttering a word. Those sitting at the table stayed. "Sorlin, talk to Prophetics and Resources and get your ship ready to go by morning. I don't want to see you when I get to my office tomorrow." He left; Science and Security followed a moment later. The two women cast a look at the departing backs and laughed, Prophetics turning to the captain.

"You realize that the people we put on your ship will be able to pull the plug when things turn dangerous don't you?" He nodded, unconcerned, his crew probably wouldn't listen anyway. "Cabrette will fit right in, I checked her profile myself. She's a Believer though, so don't be too hard on her. I'd like her to meet the Oracle if possible and discuss the prophecy with her. I know you'll do what you think is best." She smiled and stood up, offering her hand. He clasped it for a moment and was surprised at how strong it was for one who seemed so frail and distracted. She left without another word, waving to the other Minister as she went.

"I know, she's a strange one." Resources chuckled. "I'll have all your supplies ready to be put on your ship in an hour, including some extra's that you might like to share with your basic crew before you leave." She smiled as he started to protest. "It's only enough for you, Fenra and Cleo. I'm taking Rad and putting him through our training program here so we can assign him to another ship. You know that we only let him stay the extra six months with you because he was so much like your son." A cloud crossed Sorlin's face. He had been unplugged very late, just under the age limit. But he had been married at 18 and his son had just started kindergarten when he had finally learnt the truth about the world. That had been almost 10 years ago.

"Make sure you're not too hard on him, he still has confidence issues." She smiled, nodding her head slightly, knowing as Sorlin did that Rad would be treated like every other person there, it all depended on what he could do and how fast he learnt.

"I'll also send you the dossiers on your new crew members, plus my own notes on them. You'll have to watch Achilles and Jared; they're most likely to cause you trouble. Cabrette will be fine, I'm sure. Get their respect early and you should have no problems and don't tell them they can pull the plug. If they say anything about it tell them that they can't, you're the captain after-all. I'm guessing you want me to bump up your request for Jet, since he's in Zion until the Cruiser is repaired. Squidees, almost got the whole lot of them, terrified the poor guy, he had to get all the crew out AND fire the EMP." She smiled and he explained about his crew dynamic for a few minutes so they could quickly develop an effective way of dealing with the new people on the Valiant.

"I'd better go and make sure those supplies are exactly what I want, I can't have too much extra weight if she does turn out to be a trap." He smiled and left, the Minister from Resources shaking her head slightly. Sometimes the world was just too cynical for her tastes."

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A/N: I need a different name for Prophetics so if you can think of anything please let me know, enjoy the up-coming entertainment! Read, Review! J 


	8. Powerplay, and they haven't got on the s...

A/N: Please review! A character in the name of your choice if you review! Be warned, they might be part of the Matrix, who knows J 

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The ship was sparkling when he approached half an hour after the day lights came on. The maintenance crew were waiting for him to inspect their work, the same group who had done such wonderful job last time they had been in Zion. He checked everything over and smiled, dismissing them he wandered back to the front of his ship, the side that opened out onto the docks. He almost stumbled, only his training keeping his feet moving. His entire crew was standing with their bags by their sides in a line. He approached with caution, watching the Ministers throw him a wave from the walkway. Stopping a few strides from them he completed the introduction from regulation.

"Welcome to the Valiant. I am Captain Sorlin."

"Fenra, Operator First Class, the Valiant." She smiled, her eyes glittering with mischief.

"Cleo, First Officer, the Valiant." She inclined her head slightly, offering no more than that.

"Cabrette, representative of the Ministers for Human Resources and Prophetics. Operator Third Class, general crewmember certification." Her voice was cold, stony and her eyes were flint.

"Jared, representative for the Ministers of Security and Science and Technology. General crewmember qualified, training Operator." He smiled, proud of his achievements.

"Achilles, representative of the Chair of the PLC board. Crewmember qualified." Sorlin didn't like the arrogance he heard and saw in the boy, he was standing as though he were a First Officer. The captain nodded once.

"Fenra, Cleo, you have your normal rooms. Cabrette, you'll be on the same level, Jared and Achilles on the next down." He turned to the new three. "I'll make this clear now, I don't care what the Ministers have told you, you're on my ship and that means I'm in charge. Under no circumstances may you take control of my ship, you are only on board to report to your respective departments. I expect complete co-operation no matter what. If there is anything you want to tell me about yourself, feel free, I'm always ready to listen. Any problems with other crewmembers come to me first, I will not tolerate anything less. Understand?" They nodded and he dismissed them so they could put their things in their rooms. He went and talked to the Ministers, making sure Jared did have the support of Science and Technology, trying to reassure them that all would go well. Prophetics tried not to laugh, gesturing to the ship again. The crew was standing in rank order, waiting for their captain, who almost fell over in shock. He approached, checking that the order was right, Cleo, Fenra… and then it went pear-shaped, Achilles, Jared and Cabrette. He almost swore. Looking at the last three he asked, 

"Why are you standing in that order?"

"As representatives, our rank echoes those we report to." Achilles looked more arrogant than ever.

"Not on my ship." Hissed Sorlin angrily. He pointed to Cabrette. "Swap places with her."

"What?" The boy asked, incredulous.

"Swap with Cabrette. She and Jared have more training, they have a higher rank. You could represent the One for all I care. Move." There was hatred in the eyes of the now inferior boy as Cabrette moved to his old spot. Anger flashed in her eyes too but he presumed it was directed somewhere else, not at him. He lead the crew into the ship, giving each of them a set of instructions so the exit from Zion could be as smooth as possible. Two transmissions were waiting for the Valiant, both from the Chair. One only for the captain, the other to be delivered to his representative. Both held the same message, if Achilles stepped out of line, the support of the Chair went to Cabrette and the Captain Sorlin. Unnecessary interruptions were to be avoided and there was no need to argue over procedure. The PLC Board expected reports every second day atleast. The anger and resentment was palpable as they clear the Gate and headed for Broadcast level. Everyone in Zion thought the Valiant was taking a few kids up for experience and ignored the whole affair.


	9. On board, the build up

The meal was strained, the regular crew eating the goop in silence, Achilles brooding over his low status. The only people that seemed unnerved by the silence were Jared and Cabrette, the former pulling faces to make the other smile. Within five minutes the pair was smiling at each other, trying to control the laughter when the other made an exceedingly absurd face. They were stilled by the glare of Sorlin. He finished his meal and went to the cockpit, Cleo leaving shortly after to run some tests on the construct with Achilles. Jet and Fenra had already decided that they had better things to do elsewhere. Jared smiled slyly at Cabrette.

"What?" She asked slowly, looking at him out of the corner of her eye,

"Nothing." The smile spread and in a flash he turned and made a face at her, bottom lip under his front teeth. She laughed, trying not to spit goop all over the table.

"Stop it," she hissed, glancing around guiltily.

"Why?" He smiled a challenge, she raised an eyebrow.

"Because I outrank you."

"But you don't really want me to stop, do you?" He asked, smiling his signature smile.

"No, but if Sorlin catches us…."

"Catches us doing what? Laughing? Come on Cabrette, you know as well as I do that he's got nothing to say on this one." She sighed.

"I don't want him angry this early in the mission."

"But he is. Cabrette, how long have you known him?"

"Years." She replied with a shrug.

"Does he stay angry for long?"

"Not normally, not at me or Fen or Cleo. I don't know about anyone else though." He smiled recklessly.

"I'm willing to find out if it makes you smile. He's not good at that, is he? Making you smile, I mean." She shook her head,

"He's been shipbound for too long, but he hates Zion. I kind of wish he'd change his mind." She stirred the remainder of her goop grumpily. He would never change and it made her so mad sometimes, he never smiled and when he did it wasn't because he was happy, he was laughing at her.

"You like him a lot, huh?" She only nodded in reply. He put a hand gently over hers; she looked up, answering the question in his eyes. It always amazed her that this guy was the same age as Sorlin, he was softer around the edges, laughed more, made her happy when she was nervous.

"But he thinks I'm not capable, so he'll always treat me with less respect than I deserve." She shrugged, finishing the goop and putting her bowl on the bench. She looked him in the eyes again; wondering what he was hiding.

"I guess we should get to work, we have a heap of research to do." He smiled and they walked out together, side by side, strides matching perfectly. Sorlin caught a glimpse of them out of the corner of his eye as he came to see Cleo. He almost said something, but what could he say? Scowling he waited until they had gone before continuing to find his First Officer.
    
    *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Fenra and Jet were running major diagnostic checks as the ship settled at broadcast level, the captain had been brooding for the entire trip up and any slight glitch was bound to make him unbearable. Cleo had been drilling the Chair's representative in sparring and training until a few hours ago, finding that while he knew how to fight, consciously knew that the Matrix wasn't real, the rules didn't apply, she could hit him multiple times before he blocked a single strike. This had infuriated the woman, who proceeded to run him through some basic training programs again. The next time they sparred he had come out even, managing to block all attacks even if he could strike none of his own. A night watch had been arranged to familiarise all crew with the ship's interior while it was dark. So far, nothing out of the ordinary had caught anyone bar Cabrette's notice. She had been certain that there were insects of some description, some mouse-size things, in the maintenance shaft not far away. Coupled with the possibility of an attack from the machines and fear of anything that remotely resembled bugs, rats or other creatures you would find in a basement, the sensitive crewmember was taking a restorative sleep, listened over by the crew. It was in her official files that she suffered from nightmares, which lead to insomnia, and none of the crew wished that upon anyone. Sleepily Jared rubbed a hand through his hair as he made his way to the galley, able to say that he had heard nothing as he made his way past the sleeping woman's room.

"Everything ok?" He asked, the Ops nodded without turning from the screens.

"I need you to get to your post Jared." Cleo called as he walked past.

"Let me get something to eat and I'll be right there." The woman nodded and turned back to her terminals, they were preparing to jack in someone today. Opening the cold metal door he saw Sorlin mixing some nutrients together.

"Cabrette up yet?" The captain asked, not looking at the new crewmember.

"No, she had a hard night."

"I'll bet." Sorlin mumbled, stirring the goo. Jared felt his anger towards the man build. How could he be so hard on the person who would do anything to gain his approval? So far he hadn't given Jared any reason to think Cabrette justified in her struggle to garner even a slight show of a smile, a 'well done'.

"Yeah, some weird creatures are running around the maintenance shafts seem to be giving her nightmares. She can't get to sleep unless she's exhausted." He snapped.

"She should have been logging her reports with Resources and Prophectics." Sorlin still hadn't looked at the other man.

"She did, right after I finished mine."

"Good, atleast she didn't bother the Ministers with reports of fantasy monsters."

"You don't believe that she could have seen something, do you?"

"There is nothing to see at this level that isn't going to attack an operational ship."

"What about surveillance? You think that Squidees are the only machines around here?"

"Nothing else comes down this far, Cabrette knows that but if she's going to give herself nightmares over non-existent pests, that's not my problem."

"You're the captain, isn't part of your job to make sure the crew are physically and mentally well? I'd be more worried that she has trouble sleeping. You know what happened to her when she was plugged in."

"I do, and you should not. Besides, nothing that happened in there was real."

"That doesn't mean that she can't be terrified of things here because of what happened to her before. The Matrix shapes the responses to stimuli. You can't deny that."

"I have no intention of doing so, but if she can't let that stuff go then she shouldn't be jacked in."

"That is the worst excuse for refusal to allow a recruit to have Matrix experience I have ever heard. And just because you haven't said she can't go in now doesn't mean you won't. I'm going to my post." Jared left, disgusted and angry, too stirred up to contemplate food although his stomach was growling. Sorlin finished putting the new batch of goop into the dispenser, cursing under his breath, he hadn't wanted any of them on his ship and he could feel the arguments coming. From Achilles, Jared or Cabrette, he didn't care, the Valiant was his ship and he was the captain, his decisions were final.

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A/N: Yes, I know it's short but the next chapter should make up for it. Please R&R and I want to thank the wonderful people who reviewed already, 

Xauhquia: I'm so glad you like it and I hope this chapter and the next don't disappoint.

Megami no Inazumi: Thanks for the correct spelling of revelations! I changed the title, but thank you!

Silver Dragon, Iron Claws: I gave the chapters another going over, thanks for the pointers!

VanAtom: I made the chapters longer and slightly more detailed, tell me what you think.

Anyway, without further a-do, please go on to the next chapter, or leave a review and then do so. Thanks again and I hope you enjoy this story.


	10. Cabrette and Sorlin, adversaries

"My decisions are final!" He said, standing squarely facing his opponent. His hair was damp with sweat and he was still taking deep breaths because he had steadily become more wound up as the argument continued. It had been going on for almost half an hour.

"And what am I supposed to tell Prophetics? Sorry, I can't go see the Oracle because the oh so wonderful Captain Sorlin doesn't think I can handle myself." She threw her hands up in disgust, wincing as she raised her left arm any higher than it naturally hung.

"Well, you can't simple as that." Sorlin's voice was cold, his eyes colder.

"How do figure? I'm alive, aren't I?"

"Barely. Only you could jack in and get chased by two Agents, getting shot in the process. You're not ready." He turned to leave, to finish the rehashing of all that had already been said when she placed forward another argument.

"I got shot in the shoulder, at an exit, a microsecond before I got out. People with more experience have been shot further away and died."

"You're not ready. Somehow you made it so real you tore the skin on both entry and exit! That proves you shouldn't be here."

"What? You have no real reason to keep me out." Her eyes flashed angrily, hands clenching into fists at her sides.

"I have my reasons. This is pointless, you cannot undermine my orders."

"And you can't nullify the reason I am on this stinking hulk…" He cut in over her, defending the Valiant.

"It's my ship, I have authority, I give the orders." His eyes matched hers, stone cold and furious.

"You want to face the wrath PLC Board Chair, fine, but don't you dare say it was because I was incompetent."

"Why not, it's the truth." She took a moment to answer his statement, voice verging on a hiss.

"I've done more training than you ever have and you're a captain! I could beat you at any program you have, any of them. I could spar and hold my own, not that you're willing to try me, you'd rather let Cleo do that. Even she says I good enough to go in. I am not incompetent, you are impossible."

"Alright, you're unreliable, you're too risky once you're jacked in."

"I've been in once…"

"And endangered yourself and others who were in there with you."

"But they weren't, I was on my own. Because you did a disappearing act that Houdini would have been proud of!"

"How could you tell where I was if you were busy running?"

"Hmm, the Agents kind of asked where you were. I think they really wanted you instead of me…"

"That's understandable."

"But I was the only one they could find."

"That's why you're not going back in, they can find you."

"And what, you're the Invisible man? I don't think so. Do you have a valid reason to keep me out?" Her eyes searched his, trying to find some way of convincing him that she was able to do everything he asked of her. It hadn't been her fault the Agents had gone after her, they had appeared out of nowhere, she hadn't even been on the phone to Fenra until she had caught a glimpse of a suited man out of the corner of her eye. The street had been deserted, Sorlin had vanished and her legs were almost too fatigued to hold her weight, but she had made it to the exit. She had come out alive.

"I don't believe you can stay alive for long enough to be useful in there. You'd be much better off back at Zion Control." That stung, it burned more than the wound on her shoulder and she finally gave up, the defeat echoing in her soft voice.

"You know what, screw you. Screw this whole sham of a mission." The tears were in her words although her eyes were cold and dry. She was tired, she was sore and her wound was still bleeding, all she wanted was a comment on her performance that any other captain would have given, but she was stuck with Sorlin, the most demanding of all time. His eyes flashed as he replied.

"Watch your language or I'll throw you in the brig."

"Yeah, the Ministers would love that." This was the first time he had the opportunity to exert his power as captain and by all the gods, he was doing a thorough job.

"My ship, my rules." She sighed, shaking her head as she answered.

"I'm not going to play by your rules anymore. You are the most closed-minded, egotistical, stubborn captain I have ever met. Captains like you breed people like Cypher and I have no intention of helping. People like you, shouldn't be unplugged." She let it hang, as soft as spider webs in the dew. "If you decide I'm worthy of your time, I'll be in my quarters." She turned, walking away from him and the full crew of the Valiant, hair clinging to the back of her sweaty neck. Before she reached the ladder that would lead her to peace and the coolness she needed, she turned on her heel, spinning to throw the last barb with deadly accuracy.

"Oh, and by the way, thanks for the help in there, you really made the difference." No one spoke, watching as she descended, feet echoing on the cold metal floor, door slamming into the silence. Sorlin turned to the rest of his crew, appearing unruffled by the fight.

"Jared, clean up the chair, Cleo, take Achilles into the most realistic simulation we have. Fenra, I want you ready to give me a full rundown on what happened in there, Op for Achilles first. Jet, secure me a line to Zion I'll be sending a communication to the PLC. If I hear so much as a whisper about her I will make sure you share the same reprimand." He turned to leave when Jared called after him,

"What about Cabrette, she still needs that wound tended?"

"Just do as your told. You are on my ship, I told you to clean the chair." Jared didn't reply, taking his rage out on the synthetic leather, which only took him moments to clean thoroughly. Sorlin had been gone only a short time, talking to Zion still, when Fenra looked at Jared, tilting her head in the direction of the med. bay and then Cabrette's quarters. He nodded, seeing the concern in her eyes as he made his way down the ladder silently, kit in hand. Just because the captain didn't care what happened to her, didn't mean that other shared that feeling. He knew that Cleo, Fenra and Jet all would have done the same thing, crept into the darkened section of the ship to treat a fellow crewmember. The door opened slowly on silent hinges and for a moment all he could see was blackness. But there, sitting on the floor, leaning against the cold metal wall, was a very pale and very unconscious Cabrette, the crimson patch from her shoulder tapering down her arm, making patterns with the blue rag top that covered the wound. She had opened the wound and tried to push the muscles back together by herself. Without thinking he checked her pulse, finding it weak but still there. Wracking his brains, Jared bandaged the shoulder, keeping the pressure on it to stem the blood. He contemplated calling out but daren't risk Sorlin hearing. Poking his out of the door he saw a booted foot on the top rung. Holding in the curse he stayed as quiet as he could. The dark head of Jet caught his eyes, the other man holding a kit too.

"Beat me to it." He said, his voice rich and smooth. He looked at the pale woman, slowly filling the doorway. "We have to get her to the med. bay, we can't do anything here." The two men lifted the limp body easily, Jared taking the most of the weight, suggesting that Jet keep look out and he'd carry her to the safety of the medical bay. 


	11. Bloody explanations

The blood wouldn't stop, there was no slowing it as they lay her on the table-like surface. There was a vial that caught the attention of the taller man. It was a solution that was designed to help clot the blood and thus make healing quicker. Cabrette opened her eyes as they were talking about the possibility of injecting her with it.

"I need Fen," she managed. "Please, I need Fen." Her eyes closed again and the others looked at each other. What else could they do? Jet sped to the core, taking the woman's place at the Op station.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"It's because of something else, it's not going to heal nicely, I'll need to stitch it or something." Fenra was running a cool cloth of her friend's forehead, Jared still on hand.

"What happened?"

"Some punk thought that he got a lousy test score because of Cabrette, being an Op meant a way out of Zion and he hated the place. One night as she was walking back to her room he nabbed her and very slowly pushed a metal rod no thicker than a bullet through that very spot." The woman shook her head. "She was wake the whole time, the bastard didn't even knock her out. Kept on about how it was her fault, teacher's pet and all the rest." She shrugged, preparing to do what she could to cauterize the wound. "He's in rehab still, tried something similar just before she took the post as part of Control, different outcome though. Cabrette kicked his ass and delivered him to Lock. Let me just say that it wasn't pretty."

"Why would he attack her again?"

"Who knows, he's a sicko." Slowly the blood was stopping, the skin held together by crude but firm stitches. "Who's going to tell the cap?" The woman smiled, sighing.

"I think you don't want to leave her so I will. Cleo and I will come up with something. He's just being hard on her because he let her get hurt."

"That makes no sense." His eyes were resting on the calm face of the woman lying so still on the cold surface.

"Well let's put it this way, the chances of him sleeping tonight are slim to none. He'll just beat himself over the head with this until he's just exhausted. He may seem like a callous, hard-hearted prig, but she's the only one who's ever got this close to him. I can't tell you how many times I wished she'd be here to help him deal with the world."

"That explains nothing. Why wouldn't he give her some word of encouragement, approval, anything?"

"Because feeling related to love make thinking damn near impossible." She looked into his eyes, trying to convey all she knew. "If anything happened to her, here or in Zion, Sorlin would blame himself, even if he was all the way up here. He wouldn't sleep or eat when we told him about the second attack. Even though she managed to get out fairly well he was ready to kill the guy. And he doesn't even know about the spike thing." The Op rolled her eyes and made her way to the door so she could head back to her post.

"If he cared he would have let her be helped."

"If he can't do it, he doesn't want anyone else to. That would mean that he wasn't enough for her, and that is the real problem, he probably isn't." She left without a reply being given or another word spoken. He sat there, thinking about what he knew of the captain, of the crew, of Cabrette. The Valiant was one confusing ship.

*~*

A/N: I just thought I'd put more up because I got a review, Yay for a review! *Does a dance* :) I hope all your stories are going well and the muses are smiling on you all.

Silver Dragon, Iron Claws: I really don't mind how late a review is, I'm so glad you took the effort to review it :) I know this doesn't explain much about the history between Sorlin and Cabrette, but I'll get to that sooner or later. Thanks again for the review :D


	12. Fenra is listened to

The code fell past tired eyes in the tiny, teetering morning hours. Fenra hummed softly as she made her way to the galley.

"Howdy Cap." She said, barely throwing him a glance. There was no reply either way, silence only tainted by her off key melody. Climbing back up the ladder with a cup of water, the tune faltered on the Op's lips.

"Seeya Cap." Feet echoing softly on the metal floor she walked just out of his line of sight. She stopped, leaning her weight back on her heels so he could see her head and shoulders at an angle.

"Are you okay sir?"

"I'm fine. Get some rest." The mechanical reply drew a sigh from the slightly curved lips.

"You can ask you know."

"I know."

"So are you going to?" He sighed, rolling his eyes slightly.

"How is she?" He was still watching the screens, searching for something, although what eluded the Op.

"Getting some much needed sleep. Like someone else I know."

"Go to bed Fen."

'I'm watching over her this shift. I sent Jared to bed, he looked almost as bad as you do."

"He needs to learn discipline." There was a hard note echoing in his words but the woman retorted quickly.

"You need to learn forgiveness."

"Go Fen." Voice as hard as the steel around them, Sorlin didn't look at her.

"Nope, you're coming with me." Hair sitting below her shoulders, the Op smiled, shaking her head.

"Some one has to watch the Matrix."

"Jet's getting up to do it now."

"Why?"

"Because I asked him to."

"Are you saying you gave an order without consulting me?" Finally the captain turned to his cheeky crewmember.

"No, I asked him to do me a favour, no orders needed." She smiled, almost skipping away as he swore under his breath, waiting for the witch to complete her planed escaped.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"She looks so peaceful." They were standing by the doorway of the med. bay, the captain's face softer than she had ever seen it.

"That's what happens when you sleep Sorlin." Fenra replied, a slight smile playing on her lips. Cabrette was breathing deeply in slumber.

"How long has she been under?"

"Almost five hours."

"On sedation?"

"Or unconscious." He raised an eyebrow.

"How did it happen?"

"We think it was an old injury that never properly healed, the pressure building up to the point where the healed tissue couldn't cope anymore."

"Hence the reason she opened it."

"Yup, she's not the brightest sometimes."

"I'll let you get some rest."

"Are you sure?"

"Just make sure Jared doesn't come in here first thing, I want my med. bay intact for the remainder of the journey."

"Your wish, my captain, is my command."

"I wish you would just tell me the whole truth sometimes."

"Okay, with a lot of poetic license." Her broad grin vanished as she left, the captain sitting in a chair near the table-like bed the woman lay on. The lights stayed dark for many hours, leaving the pair in silhouette, the wounded and the guardian.

*~*

A/N: I hope that made things clearer, if not, please ask and I'll try to answer the questions with a clear plot :) There is always a reason for everything, every character and every words said, I write by the director's code. "Everything by design, nothing by accident."

Sliver Dragon, Iron Claws: I do that for all my stories, if someone reviews and asks for another chapter, if there is a plot that can be continued, and done atleast averagely, I will write a new chapter. But sometimes I need that extra shove to find something to write. So thank you for reviewing :) As I said in my a/n, I hope this answered some of your questions. Or atleast cleared Sorlin's character a little, he isn't a jerk all the time…


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